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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29352165">Perfectly Imperfect</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/john_paul_george_ringo/pseuds/john_paul_george_ringo'>john_paul_george_ringo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Queen (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Birthday Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Happy Birthday Veronica!!, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 14:07:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,970</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29352165</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/john_paul_george_ringo/pseuds/john_paul_george_ringo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>John's always on tour for Ronnie's birthday - but this year is different, and he's determined to make this birthday special.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Deacon/Veronica Tetzlaff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Perfectly Imperfect</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Keep your eyes closed!" John holds his hands over his wife's eyes, as he guides her through the house.</p><p>"They are closed!" She retorts, starting to feel a little dizzy as she is blindly led around.</p><p>"Okay, you're going to have to step over the toys," he takes her hands as she takes a comically large step over the pile of Barbie dolls.</p><p>The sound of laughter echoed into Ronnie's ears as John turned her body left, and guided her down the corridor, leading to the Kitchen.</p><p>"Can someone open the door!" John shouts, making Veronica jump.</p><p>She hears the door creaking open and is led in.</p><p>"Keep your eyes closed!" John repeats as he removed his hands from her eyes.</p><p>"They are! Now can somebody tell me what's going on?" She laughs hysterically. John hadn't let her go into the kitchen at all after dinner last night and had told her multiple times to not enter until he told her to. He'd been preparing for her birthday for a long time - being her 30th. He was always very busy during the month of February, and never really got a chance to celebrate her birthday together.</p><p>This year was going to be different. Recording the soundtrack for Flash Gordon had given him quite a lot of free time which he spent planning the perfect birthday for the person he loved the most.</p><p>"Right, you can open them," John announced.</p><p>As her eyes adjusted to the light she was greeted by four smiling faces. John was giving her his famous toothy grin, as he held little Laura, who wore her best dress, Robert who held a present, and Mike with an envelope in his hand, standing very still for an excited three-year-old.</p><p>They then performed a loud and out of key rendition of Happy Birthday, but Ronnie smiled all the same.</p><p>"Aw, thank you very much!" She beams at her children.</p><p>"Toast!" John suddenly exclaims as he places his daughter in her highchair and runs to the toaster.</p><p>Something that had become a bit of a tradition in the Deacon household was Birthday Toast. Back in 1973, John had invited Ronnie to dinner on her birthday but had forgotten to reserve a table at a restaurant. She didn't seem to mind, but John insisted he'd make her a meal. However, the only food he had was bread. He had hastily shoved it into the toaster while Ronnie went to the toilet. Her meal of toast complete with butter and jam and a lit candle stuck in the top. Veronica had laughed her head off at the sight of it, and ever since, each Deacon had special toast every birthday.</p><p>He'd managed to forget the bread in the toaster, and now glumly served the rest is family the burned toast.</p><p>"Sorry it's burned," he sighed.</p><p>"It's fine, John. It's the thought that counts." She smiles at him sympathetically. He still looked glum, but his eyes lit up again in excitement.</p><p>"Presents!" He exclaims, looking at his youngest son, Michael, who sat struggling to eat toast with the envelope still in his hand. The three-year-old looked at his father, who nodded and then at his mother, who smiled and passed the now jam-stained envelope across the table to her.</p><p>"Thank you," Veronica beams, as she carefully opens the envelope. Inside was a homemade card, coated in a thick layer of glitter with a big 'Happy 30th Birthday' written carefully on the front.</p><p>"This is wonderful! Did you all make these yourselves?" The boys nod happily, and Robert explains how he'd signed his own name on the card as he'd recently learned to write. Ronnie of course made a big fuss, so pleased that they - or more so John - had taken the time to make a card for her. She pointed out how wonderful Michael's drawings were on the outside and cooed at Laura, complimenting her for the fingerpainting on the inside.</p><p>John could never understand how Veronica could always be so kind and considerate to anyone around her. He'd often find himself easily impatient and stressed. John had only truly seen Ronnie lose her temper a couple of times, but it was something he never wanted to experience again.</p><p>"And the present!" Robert pushes the gift across the table towards his mother. Ronnie once again swooned over the beautiful wrapping and the ribbon that held it in place.</p><p>It was a coffee machine. The same kind that she'd obsessed with in a hotel room on tour.</p><p>"Oh my goodness! It's that coffee machine that I loved!" Her eyes lingered on John as she engulfed her giggling children in a hug in thanks. He smirked.</p><p>"There's more presents, y'know." He raises his eyebrows as he stacks the plates of mostly uneaten, cold, burned toast.</p><p>"More? John this is already perfect! I don't need anymore!" She explains.</p><p>"But you deserve it, Love," he continues, "30 presents for your 30th... Well, now 29."</p><p>"I can't wait!"</p><p>Presents 29 and 28 came after breakfast. John and the kids had gifted her a new floral dress and cardigan, which she got changed into immediately and danced around the room with present 27 - a new vinyl - along with the kids.</p><p>John stared dreamily at his wife. He couldn't seem to get his eyes off her. She noticed this of course and sent him a playful wink. But that wink was enough to send his heart into orbit. He'd never been so enamored by anyone in his life ever, and no matter what she was doing, he'd always think that she was the most beautiful woman in the world. </p><p>"You look like you're ready for present number 26," John laughs as Ronnie relaxes on the couch next to him, completely exhausted from dancing around the room.</p><p>"I'll get it!" Rob leaps up to collect the present from upstairs.</p><p>"Oh no, let me help you!" John jumps up too, following his son up the stairs. It would be disastrous if Robert was to drop the present, and currently, the boy had a tendency to be clumsy.</p><p>"Wow, thank you!" Veronica exclaims moments later as she unwrapped her next gift - a large bottle of some very expensive red wine.</p><p>"Oh and," John hands an envelope to Mike, who stumbles over to hand it to his mother, "this is present 25."</p><p>Carefully, Ronnie opens it.</p><p>"A spa day?" Her eyes widen, as she stares at the contents of the envelope.</p><p>"Mhm," John smiles, gazing into space, proud that his plan was back on track.</p><p>The family spent the rest of the morning playing with the kid's toys and enjoying those precious moments together that they rarely ever had due to their busy lives and schedules. Although he was preoccupied playing dolls with Laura, John couldn't help but glance over at his wife every so often. He was once again filled with so much joy and happiness to be able to have spent some of those 30 years by her side.</p><p>Five more presents were opened before lunch - some bath salts and candles for her Friday night baths where she would have an hour to herself to read a book and drink a long-awaited glass of wine.</p><p>Present number 19 was lunch at Ronnie's favorite restaurant on the highstreet - a small, family-owned Italian restaurant which had, in Veronica's opinion, the best garlic bread. Although Mike and Robert argued over pizza, and Laura decided to have a tantrum, it was a perfectly lovely meal in Ronnie's eyes.</p><p>For John, not so much. He had expected to take her out for a romantic meal, perhaps with the kids quietly playing with each other, entertaining themselves. Instead, they had to seat Robert and Michael at either end of the table to avoid World War Three and had to entertain Laura with toys as she screamed in her highchair.</p><p>"The cake!" John exclaims as he pushes the stroller down the street on their walk back home.</p><p>"Hm?" Veronica glances at him momentarily, watching Robert run in front of them.</p><p>"I meant to make your cake and it completely escaped my mind!" He groans, annoyed with himself for forgetting a fundamental part of birthdays.</p><p>"Don't worry, love." Veronica comforts him, by rubbing her hand on his tense shoulder, "you can make it while the kids have their afternoon nap."</p><p>"But what about you? I can't leave you all by yourself on your birthday! I've left you alone every other year!"</p><p>"I'll be fine! I might have a nap myself! Could that be my 18th present?" She asks hopefully.</p><p>"If you really want it to be." John laughs.</p><p>--------</p><p>John held a screaming Laura in his arms, as he hurried around the kitchen to add the finishing touches to Ronnie's cake, which looked more like the contents of the vacuum cleaner than an actual cake.</p><p>"Shhh," he comforted his daughter, wishing that Ronnie wouldn't wake up until her birthday cake was prepared. John had dumped a pile of icing on top of the cake in an attempt to make it look more appealing. He'd tried to make the icing blue, yet it had turned out a horrible dark green.</p><p>"DAD!" Robert yells from upstairs. John bolts up the stairs, holding Laura and a spatula as he raced to grab his son before Veronica did. </p><p>The eldest Deacon child stood in the center of his bedroom, staring in horror as his younger brother sat covered head to toe in melted chocolate.</p><p>"What happened?" John exclaimed, putting Laura - still screaming - onto Robert's bed.</p><p>"I don't know!" Robert begins to cry too. "Mike got into Mum's birthday chocolates and now it's everywhere!"</p><p>"Oh, God!" John's not the problem-solving parent, but today he'd have to be.</p><p>"Right! Rob, it's alright." He crouches down to the teary boy's level and gives him a comforting hug. "I'm going to give your brother a bath, can you watch your little sister for me?"</p><p>--------</p><p>Veronica wakes up from her nap, yawning, and well-rested for whatever plans her husband had next. The house was oddly silent, which in Ronnie's mind meant trouble. The house also had a strange scent but she couldn't exactly put her finger on what smell it was.</p><p>Lazily, she wandered through the bedrooms, finding them empty, but the bathroom door closed which was strange as a family rule was to keep that door open since Robert had locked himself in last year. She heard the muffled voice of John and the giggles of Mike.</p><p>--------</p><p>"I'm glad at least one of us is finding this funny!" John grumbles as Mike smiles and splashes in the chocolate stained bathwater.</p><p>"John?" A voice emerges from the door. John lunges himself to the door and locks it.</p><p>"Uh hi, just give me a minute!" He shouts, running back to pull Micheal out of the bath and throws a towel around him.</p><p>"What's going on? Where are the kids?" Ronnie asks, with a hint of panic in her voice.</p><p>"They're in Rob's room!"</p><p>"No, they're not, I checked!"</p><p>How on earth had he managed to lose the kids?</p><p>"Just go into the living room! Whatever you do, do not go into the kitchen!"</p><p>"Please just tell me what's happening!" Ronnie rests her forehead on the locked door, "no more surprises."</p><p>John opens the door, clutching Mike, with a sympathetic look.</p><p>"Sorry, love. Nothing's wrong, Mike just needed a bath. I'm sure the others are downstairs."</p><p>-----------</p><p>Sure enough, Laura was in the kitchen being entertained by her older brother when John had overtaken Veronica on their way downstairs.</p><p>"Code Red, Rob! Code Red!" John alerts Robert, sending them both into a panicked rush about the kitchen to clean up John's baking mess, and had just enough time to unceremoniously shove some candles into the top of the cake, light them, and stand completely still in preparation for when Ronnie eventually came downstairs after she'd put some clothes on Mike.</p><p>The kids and John begin to sing Happy Birthday for the second time that day, as Ronnie smiled at them, hiding her concern for the cake, which was wonky and was leaking a strange brown substance.</p><p>"Make a wish!" John directs his wife, hoping that she'd wish for them to not get food poisoning from the cake. She blew out the candles and gave each family member a kiss of gratitude.</p><p>"Right, let's try it then!" Her voice quivered as she looked closer at the cake - it looked like it was growing mold.</p><p>John hands her a knife and she cuts out a piece and places it on a plate. The cake was grey.</p><p>"It looks... Nice," she lied while picking up a fork.</p><p>She takes a large piece of cake onto her fork and opens her mouth, praying that it didn't kill her.</p><p>"No don't!" He knocked the fork from her and pushes the rest of the cake away.</p><p>"Sorry! I really tried, but I think that cake will kill you if you ate a single bite of it! I'm hopeless at baking!" He covers his face with his hands, embarrassed. Ronnie rubs his back affectionately.</p><p>"John, I really don't mind. This day has been perfect despite this, honestly." She whispers, so only he can hear.</p><p>"No!" John uncovers his face and stands up, staring at his watch.</p><p>"No?" Ronnie quizzes him, taken aback at his sudden change in emotion.</p><p>"We're going to be late!" He grabs Veronica's hand and tries to use his other arm to scoop up all of his kids to no avail.</p><p>Ronnie decided to not object or ask any questions as John collected the kids and put their coats on. She didn't say a word when he helped her into the car along with the children and drove off.</p><p>"This is the last surprise, promise," John murmured over the radio, taking his hand off from the gear stick to intertwine his fingers with hers. "Sorry for my outburst before... I just wanted this day to be perfect and it hasn't turned out that way..."</p><p>"I understand, honey. And I've really loved it so far. Today's been perfectly imperfect." She giggles. John squeezes her hand before letting go to put both hands on the wheel as he turns into the parking lot of one of the pubs near their house.</p><p>"This is where we're having dinner?" Ronnie asks, excitedly. It was one of her favorite pubs to go to. The kids loved it too, as many other families came to have meals together.</p><p>"Yeah," John leaps out of the car to unbuckle the kids. Ronnie does the same. "It's the only place that will fit a table for all 14 of us."</p><p>"Hm?"</p><p>"It's the only place that will fit a table for 14."</p><p>"14? Last time I checked there were only five of us."</p><p>"Hm, strange." John closes the car door, holding Laura, and raises his eyebrows at his confused wife, who held hands with both sons.</p><p>--------</p><p>"Surprise!" Inside the little pub, sat at the biggest table was Ronnie's family. Her parents, siblings, their partners, and children from Sheffield all sat smiling at her.</p><p>"Oh my!" Ronnie exclaims, happy tears brimming in her eyes, "How did you all... Why are you all..." she can barely string a sentence together as she goes around the table greeting everyone.</p><p>"John put it all together," Veronica's mother explains, "he bought us all train tickets and booked us all hotel rooms."</p><p>Ronnie turns her head to her husband. He shrugs modestly.</p><p>"Aw thank you!" Veronica pulls him into a tight embrace and kisses him on the cheek. She'd thank him a whole lot more... but later and definitely not in front of her highly religious family.</p><p>The rest of her birthday was actually perfect. No crying kids, no chocolate incidents, and most importantly some birthday cake that won't make the entire family ill.</p><p>"If my memory serves me right, you're still owed at least five presents." John points out, as he carries two exhausted children in both arms towards the car.</p><p>"I told you, I don't need any more gifts! You've already given me enough. And besides, being married to you and having these three beautiful children together are all the presents I'll ever need." She grins, buckling a sleeping Robert into his car seat, before joining her husband round the back of the car.</p><p>"Not those sort of presents," John says, tucking a hair away from Veronica's face. "Not physical presents..."</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"Y'know... A- a birthday gift... in bed..."</p><p>She still looks at him as if he's lost his mind.</p><p>"Sex, love. We're going to have sex." He laughs.</p><p>"Oh... right. You could have just said that!" She giggles, giving him a hug as he rolls his eyes.</p><p>"Thanks for today. It's been amazing." Ronnie pulls back with a smile.</p><p>"Despite the cake and everything?"</p><p>"Yes! I bet the cake wouldn't have even tasted that bad."</p><p>"It was grey Ronnie. I'm not letting you in that kitchen until that thing has been disposed of. It's practically nuclear waste!" John says, with complete seriousness.</p><p>"Nothing is as bad as Robert's last birthday party. Where we hired that clown who terrified all the kids!" Veronica recalls.</p><p>"We had to give them extra candy as compensation!"</p><p>"See, today has been anything but that. It was great, truly."</p><p>"Thank you. And happy birthday, my love." John pulls his wife in for a proper kiss, holding her face in his warm hands. She slips her arms around his neck, closing her eyes.</p><p>"Wow..." she whispers as they pull apart after at least five minutes.</p><p>"As I said, I still owe you a lot of presents," John replies.</p><p>"If all your presents are like that one, you better take me home."</p><p>"Of course."</p><p>The day hadn't turned out exactly as John had hoped, it was better.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VERONICA!!! I'm so happy with the way that this one turned out, and I love writing about their family dynamics! I will see you all on Valentine's day for another fic 👀</p></blockquote></div></div>
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